The rebuild of Canterbury provides us with a unique opportunity to build a better city. But there is a sense that the unique opportunity is being missed and the optimism following the “share an idea” process has diminished.

Much of Labour’s Canterbury policy package is focussed on the urgent issues of today – sorting out the EQC/insurance mess and flooding so that people can move on with their lives, sorting out the housing crisis, extra support for mental health, restoring democracy.

Within a decade Labour will ensure a network of local railway stations, with park and ride facilities, and pathways and cycleways drawing passengers from the surrounding communities.

The trains and the stations will be safe, modern and attractive, and will include free wi-fi for commuters. The rail service will be integrated with high-frequency bus services allowing for efficient connections, and a one-ticket system for the entire network.

In my view commuter rail is long overdue in Canterbury. But the earthquakes have changed the shape of Christchurch forever making it even more important. The population to the north and west of the city is growing rapidly. The extreme congestion on the northern corridor is the result of the transport network not matching the new shape.

Commuter rail will help ease congestion, will reduce carbon emissions, will help spark revitalisation of suburban town centres.

When you are deeply immersed in a local campaign sometimes it can be difficult to see the helicopter view. I don’t know how accurate the political polls are and have always known that things can change quickly in politics anyway (I campaign managed Jim Anderton’s mayoral campaign in 2010 that went from a 30% poll lead to a 15% election loss in the space of four weeks! This is probably some kind of record). I was also a candidate back in 2002 when Labour’s support dropped 10% in the space of a few weeks after Seeds of Distrust was released.

What I do know on the ground in Christchurch Central is that there has been a marked shift in momentum towards Labour. Until the past few weeks there has been a larger than usual group of undecided voters (mostly former Labour voters or non voters who were unsure about Labour). This particular group is now moving from being undecided to saying they will vote Labour.

I don’t think you can put your finger on any one reason for that momentum shift. Labour had a successful congress and announced a positive education policy. And a successful campaign launch where we announced a positive health policy. And a series of popular policies in between. Cunliffe has been articulating those policies incredibly well. Labour is running a positive campaign with a positive (literally) slogan. And Labour is running one of the most impressive and sophisticated ground operations I’ve seen (and I volunteered on Obama’s 2008 campaign in Pennsylvania).

The momentum shift was underway before Dirty Politics was released. But that too is cementing in the momentum shift. Despite the pleas to the contrary Dirty Politics is an election issue because it raises questions about how we conduct our politics. Elections are about trust, they are about moral and ethical leadership, they are about the kind of country we aspire to be, they are about what we value as a country.

If the rest of the country is heading the same way as the momentum shift we’re seeing in Christchurch Central, Labour will lead the next Government.

This week Labour announced a significant policy package to ensure that all New Zealanders under the age of 20 are in work, education or training.

My team and I have had just over 8500 personal conversations with people in Christchurch Central and I know that this is the stuff that people really care about.

Young people want opportunities for training and jobs. Parents and grandparents want to ensure opportunities exist for their children and grandchildren to get ahead.

Currently 75,000 young New Zealanders aged 15-24 are not in work, education or training. This amounts to a rate of more than 11 percent, which is double the unemployment rate for the rest of the population. 45% of our total unemployed are youth – the highest percentage of any youth population in the OECD.

Labour will invest $183 million in a comprehensive Youth Employment Package. We will encourage young New Zealanders to move off the unemployment benefit and into apprenticeships by paying the equivalent of the dole ($9100) to employers willing to offer a permanent full time job. And we will develop a National Careers Strategy and increase funding for career guidance in schools.

This Youth Employment Package will reach the 24,000 young New Zealanders under the age of 20 who are not in work, education or training.

This is a policy that has particular significant for Canterbury – a region that desperately needs skilled people who are trained to help us rebuild our city. It’s what should have been put in place four years ago.

Labour is committed to supporting New Zealanders into work. This will include a particular focus on giving young people a pathway to realising their full potential. To do this we need a world class skills training system that meets the needs of workers, employers and the economy.

A world class skills training system that meets the needs of Canterbury and the rebuild.

Occasionally I come across people who don’t believe me when I say there is a housing crisis in Christchurch. Despite all the evidence to the contrary. Even when I tell them that every third or fourth home I’m door knocking in Christchurch Central has someone living in the garage, in a caravan or on a couch (homeless, according to the formal definition). Or they simply don’t believe the scale of the problem.

But most people get it immediately. Because they have seen their own rents skyrocket. Or they are struggling to save a deposit for their own home and are watching house prices and interest rates climb beyond their reach. Or their neighbour is the one with other family or friends sleeping on the couch or in the caravan on the lawn.

I’ve just started street corner meetings. At my third street corner meeting in Edgeware a couple came out of a house. They had been sleeping on a friends couch for a month. They had to move out the next day. They had nowhere to go, not even a car to sleep in. They spent ten minutes in tears on the street corner. They were unable to get on the HNZ or CCC emergency housing list because their situation wasn’t bad enough!

Thankfully Clayton Cosgrove is assisting me with specific case work. But the need is massive. Around 5000-7000 homeless according to Government stats.

This report tells the story better than I could. For most of their 100 families (458 people) their quality of life and health has gone backwards, and the lack of quality affordable housing is the driver.

Whānau are in sub-standard housing conditions and are suffering health conditions such as skin infections and respiratory problems. Housing is negatively affecting whānau physical wellbeing.

Whānau who are in sub-standard housing, homeless or in outbuildings, are at risk of health conditions, including SUDI/SIDS, respiratory conditions, anxiety and stress. This is critical for those babies born prematurely.

Impacts on the wider whānau wellbeing have included domestic violence, relationship issues, lack of continuity of education, and unemployment.

I wonder if the Government will calculate the cost of this housing crisis, such as the cost to our health system and economy. Let alone the lost opportunities for those children and young people growing up in these households.

People who work hard and play by the rules should be able to get ahead in life. But too many are being held back by the lack of quality, affordable housing. The Canterbury housing crisis is a moral, economic, health, education, and social failure.

Last week David Cunliffe outlined the final major plank of our Canterbury specific policy – Kick-starting the Canterbury Rebuild.

Labour announced that we would return decision-making to local organisations by immediately beginning to wind down CERA and cancelling its extraordinary powers.

The significance was lost on many, because many people assumed that what Labour announced was existing policy. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Roger Sutton and Gerry Brownlee have both been talking about a “progression plan” for CERA rather than a “transition plan”. An interesting use of language that tells us a lot! And they have made it clear that while the emergency powers of CERA may expire in 2016, that CERA will continue as a Government department overseeing the rebuild.

Labour’s plan is radically different. A Labour Government will wind CERA down, with a view that it will no longer exist in 2016. It’s current roles and responsibilities will instead be transferred to democratic local organisations – CDHB, Councils, ECan – with Government playing a support role.

Alongside that Labour announced an immediate return of democratic elections for ECan, probably in early 2015.

Equally significant was Labour’s announced that it would look at the cost-share agreement with fresh eyes and work in partnership with the Christchurch City Council to find solutions to the financial crisis created by the cost-sharing arrangement imposed by the current government on the previous council.

We said we wouldn’t prejudge the outcome of those discussions – but obviously that means the various cost-share projects could be delayed, cancelled or scaled back. This is very significant, because it could release the Council from its binding cost-share agreement and help dig the Council (and therefore the ratepayer) out of a massive financial hole.

Combined these policies represent a significant difference from the National Government, and a significant democratization of the Canterbury rebuild. Under Labour – it will be the people of Canterbury and the people they elect, who will be in charge of the rebuild. Not bureaucrats in Wellington. Not politicians in Wellington. And not Gerry Bownlee. Hallelujah!

Labour’s first 100 days is going to be a busy time – we’ve got a lot to change! Kick-starting the Canterbury recovery is going to be a crucial part of those first 100 days. Labour has announced several Canterbury specific policies that put people first.

Health policy that acknowledges the additional health issues (particularly mental health) that Canterbury people are facing as a result of the earthquake.

Heritage policy that is about restoring democracy and giving power back to the people.

Housing policy that will help solve the housing crisis. For me housing is the biggest challenge facing us in Christchurch, and Labour’s bold policy in this area will make a significant difference to people’s lives.

David Cunliffe will announce more Canterbury policy this Thursday.

Labour’s other New Zealand-wide policies will also make a significance difference for Canterbury. Combined this represents a positive agenda for a better New Zealand and a better Canterbury.

Recently I got accused of being the Tip O’Neill of Christchurch Central. I thought I’d better look him up on google to work out if that was a compliment or a criticism. Turns out Tip O’Neill is famous for saying “all politics is local”.

The compliment (accusation?) came as a result of a local campaign I’m running to get a turning arrow on the Corner of Cranford Street and Innes Road.

Since being selected I’ve contacted or been contacted by hundreds of people in Christchurch Central on various issues – mainly issues around housing and homelessness, incomes, power prices, jobs, EQC/Insurance. But I’ve also been contacted on local issues – Phillipstown School, Centennial Pool, flooding in Flockton and Beckenham, heritage buildings in the central city, the impact of Council’s alcohol policy decisions on inner-city residents etc.

But the issues that has probably generated the most contact has been my campaign to get turning arrows on Cranford and Innes. It has generated an overwhelming number of e-mails and phone calls and some very passionate folk supporting it. I was contacted by two residents back in March and started asking questions back then. My own experience on that corner confirmed the need. And then I started running a campaign around it. Tomorrow I’ll launch a petition.

For me this is Labour values in action. Responsive to local people on local issues and then working with local people to create change that makes a tangible difference for people’s lives. Whether it’s a turning arrow or a living wage – change starts at a local level.

This is no more fundamental a responsibility of any Government than housing its people. Today Labour outlined a bold and ambitious plan to solve the Canterbury housing crisis and ensure that people have a roof over their heads.

A Labour Government will take a hands-on approach to solve the crisis:

Build 10,000 affordable Kiwibuild homes in Canterbury over four years, providing the first 3,000 of these homes as affordable rentals until the housing crisis is fixed

Build 100 temporary homes immediately to boost the stock of temporary emergency housing in the first three months, and an additional 300 in the first six months

Build affordable medium density housing to revitalise the city centre, as well as suburban and town centres. This will create vibrant communities with high quality urban design, green spaces and decent infrastructure

Increase the accommodation supplement for Christchurch by up to $50 a week until the housing crisis is fixed to correct the shortfall

It will solve the immediate issues (the acute shortage of emergency accommodation) short-term issues (the need for low rental accommodation for earthquake victims and increased accommodation supplement to support people facing large post-earthquake rent increases), and longer-term issues (the need for more housing supply, and quality urban development and planning).

As Labour’s Christchurch Central candidate I know that the Central City will die unless the Government drives building affordable accommodation in the Central City.

Housing is the number one issue for Canterbury. This package is bold and ambitious. It provides a stark contrast with a National Government that is doing the bare minimum because it doesn’t believe there is a crisis, doesn’t believe it requires urgent attention, and believes the market will sort it out.

It’s rare that you get to see video evidence of the very moment a crisis could have been averted. The video below documents the moment the Christchurch housing crisis could have been averted if only Gerry Brownlee had listened.

It was filmed the night that the Government announced that 5100 households would be “red zoned” and would be forced to leave their land (it ended up being 7800 homes). Around 19,000 people were given a set date to vacate their homes with no homes to go to. It doesn’t take a rocket-scientist to work out that this would create massive demand with no supply to match it, and that this would create serious problems.

Rev Mike Colman almost pleads with Gerry Brownlee to understand what the result would be and the massive pressure that would be put on the housing market.

Rev Coleman points out that those being bought out will be worse off because they won’t be able to afford a house and section in areas where property values are higher. He says that there is no way people can enter a market with any kind of collateral and be able to buy anything. He points out that the market will push section and house prices up.

Brownlee dismisses all of these concerns and says they are assertions. He says “they can borrow an awful lot more and be considerably better off.” He says the government can “push the button” on 16,000 more sections in the next 2-3 years “if that’s what we choose”. He states: “If we can push the button and get 16,000 sections available very very quickly that isn’t going to see escalation in price”. And Brownlee says the Government has the capacity to make land available but that he will “watch and see what happens”.

And therein lies the problem.

The housing crisis was entirely predictable. Mike Coleman (and others) warned Gerry Brownlee and the Government. The Government has watched and waited and watched and waited and done nothing.

Deloitte estimate fewer than 1,000 homes have actually been built so far when Canterbury needs 12-15,000 to return to pre-quake levels.

Rents and house prices have skyrocketed pushing people into poverty and hardship.

We’re still waiting for the Government to “push the button” on these 16,000 sections Gerry said would be available in 2-3 years.

]]>https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/06/18/the-moment-the-housing-crisis-in-christchurch-could-have-been-averted/feed/6Labour’s bold plan to get things moving in Canterburyhttps://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/06/11/labours-bold-plan-to-get-things-moving-in-canterbury/
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/06/11/labours-bold-plan-to-get-things-moving-in-canterbury/#commentsTue, 10 Jun 2014 20:33:39 +0000http://thedailyblog.co.nz/?p=47762
On Monday David Cunliffe and David Parker outlined a plan to kickstart the Canterbury recovery.

The first of Labour’s Canterbury policy announcements was aimed at allowing people to move on with their lives. After almost four years far too many are stuck in limbo fighting EQC or insurance companies, or dealing with repeated flooding.

Labour will set up a special Earthquake Court to cut through the huge backlog of insurance cases. All costs, including lawyers’ costs and expert witnesses’ fees, will be paid for by the Crown to reduce the burden on families trying to get their claim settled. The Crown will recoup those costs from the insurance companies and EQC as a levy in proportion to the size of the awards granted by the Court.

And Labour will ensure the government will pay its share to help protect homes that are suffering flooding due to the Canterbury earthquakes. If needed, we will amend the law to make it clear that EQC must pay for earthquake damage in the form of land subsidence or other geological changes, and we will make that law cover the Canterbury earthquakes.

The Christchurch Press described the plan as “bold“. Councillor and advocate Ali Jones supported the policy:

“To have a system available where people can take on the insurance sector and address this imbalance of power in some way to the little guy’s advantage, then I say bring it on.”

The policy was bold and well thought out after extensive discussion with legal experts and those who have struggled with EQC and Insurance issues.

The legal experts and community representatives in the room who I chatted with after the announcement described it as a “game changer” both politically and to get insurance and flooding issues sorted.

Labour has more excellent Canterbury policy to come on housing, transport, urban design, heritage, CERA and more. All aimed at kickstarting a slow and messy recovery and giving people hope. The people of Canterbury will have a distinctive alternative to vote for on September 20th.

I’ve been to a lot of meetings on flooding in the past year. The new Council may have been slow to pick up the ball but they are now running strong. Tonight’s Flockton Basin/Dudley Creek Flooding Taskforce meeting presented a solution to the community that received significant support from the 200+ who attended.

The solution that will be put to Councillors on Thursday is to order a pipe that could arrive in six weeks and construct a new Tay Street Drain Pump Station. Flooding would be diverted to the Cranford Basin. It’s only a partial solution but it could be built in three months and be making a significant difference to reducing flooding for many residents. They would also look at bunding and other options for homes that modelling indicates would still flood.

Council would simultaneously begin work on the longer term solution (Option 1 or Option 2 as previously outlined by Council to the community that will take 2-3 years to construct).

One bloke summed it up best when he said “It’s a no-brainer: get on and build the Tay St Drain & then move on to the permanent options” – a statement that received a strong round of applause. That should be a clear message to the five City Councillors present.

There are still a few pieced of the puzzle missing for a complete solution – Government providing temporary accommodation assistance and/or temporary villages, and buy-out offers for the most seriously affected. The Government needs to come to the party and Labour has offered by-partisan support for this.

And there are still issues around EQC/insurance and consents being granted or insurance companies wanting to build or repair floor levels for a 1 in 50 year flood event rather than the 1 in 200. The 1 in 200 floor levels will likely be in the new District Plan when that is operative in 6-12 months.

The City Council should be congratulated. They are undertaking a massive job. Residents feel listened to. They are receiving accurate information and honest answers. People left the meeting with hope of a pathway forward for Flockton.

This is a real story, in their own words, that appeared on Facebook a few months ago. It deserves a wider audience. This families plight highlights the pressure many families (particularly in Christchurch) are facing.

Hooray for our National Government!

Let me tell you just how well they have supported my family over the last twelve months.

We started off 2013 full of hope that finally things were going to get better. Our children were at new schools and beginning to recover from the trauma of being trapped in the CBD during the earthquake. Having lost our source of income as a result of the earthquake I retrained as a teacher. My husband and I both had teaching jobs. As a beginning teacher and teacher Aide our salaries were very low but at least we were earning.

Strike 1: We were earning but not receiving. Novopay! That wonderful new acquisition of our caring and intelligent government hit us hard. For months we were not paid properly or at all in my husband’s case. This meant that we quickly fell into debt as we had no income. Paying interest on the debt cost us thousands by the end of the year.

Strike 2: My job was a fixed term position for 1 year. That’s ok. I’m sure to find another one… except the government has closed so many Christchurch schools that even many experienced teachers are out of work. So no more jobs available. Way to go government! As if we haven’t suffered enough in Christchurch!

Strike 3: Thank goodness we have a welfare system to help us out in times of trouble. Our incredibly generous government has worked its magic on the welfare system too. Revamping it to make sure those nasty beneficiaries don’t eat into their coffers and mess up the budget surplus targets. So despite being unemployed I am ineligible for a benefit. The reason being that the $379.28 that my husband brings home each week during the school term (as a teacher aide he does not get paid for school holidays) is too much for me to qualify. We can claim an accommodation supplement of $120 per week.

Strike 4: $120 per week accommodation supplement doesn’t go very far in Christchurch thesedays. But if we lived in Auckland we could get more because housing is so much more expensive there. Really? A small 1960’s house with 2 1/2 bedrooms and no insulation is at least $450 a week in Christchurch. A search on Trademe revealed 68 3 bedroom houses available for rent in Auckland for $350 per week or less. There were no 3 bedroom houses for that price in Christchurch. Aah yes there is a housing shortage but the government will not increase the accommodation supplement or do anything to stop the profiteering of landlords. Or make resolving the housing shortage a priority.

Why? Who knows… it seems that people are not as important as those good old market forces – our friends supply and demand.

It is interesting to consider that during a similarly traumatic and destructive national emergency (World War 2), it was illegal to profiteer in this way. In fact in the UK, profiteering like this was akin to treason and carried the death penalty.

Strike 5: So, here we are. A family of two adults and two hungry teenagers and two cats living on $568.28 per week for 40 weeks of the year and $189 per week for the rest when you include our
family tax rebate. Our rent was $470 per week and it was costing $110 per week for my husband to commute to his job. In order to save money we have put the kids into the school where my husband works and moved close by. Our rent is now $450 per week and we are locked into it for the next twelve months. We signed the contract believing that we would be entitled to a benefit that would give me an income and believing that for $450 a week it would be insulated and safe if not beautiful.

We were wrong. We were unable to find anything cheaper despite searching for months. I had applied for a benefit in the first week of February after my previous employment contract ended.

Unfortunately, WINZ were having a tough few months and it took them until the 6th process my application. They declined it. If I had known that it would be declined I would not have signed the tenancy three weeks earlier.

Strike 6: Novopay strikes again! Novopay failed to pay me correctly at the end of my contract so I am still owed a week’s pay. Novopay refuse to talk to teachers and will only talk to the pay officer in the school. I notified the school over a month ago and they say that they have referred the matter to Novopay. Nothing more they can do. Novopay won’t talk to me so I can’t find out where my money is. Stalemate!

So as you can see our wonderful government has taken an ordinary family and crushed it through the accumulated impact of the decisions of their various departments. We survived the earthquake and after three years the physical and psychological injuries are starting to heal. Unfortunately, we won’t survive this government. I don’t know what I can possibly do to change my situation. I have tried every avenue I can think of. Years of hard work all for nothing.

It baffles me that such a government could ever be elected by reasonable people. But then I guess Hitler was elected too… I am sure there are well meaning people in the government somewhere but I wonder if they really appreciate the impact of the decisions that they make on ordinary people.

Take a walk through the central city and it will remind you of a war zone.

The Campbell Live piece a few weeks back was devastating – devastating because it told the truth and showed New Zealand what is really happening (and not happening) in our city. See here, and here, and here.

Businesses have moved on and built in Addington, Sydenham and Victoria Street. Property developers are saying the cost of land and building means they’re unlikely to build in the central city, and that tenants can’t afford the rents anyway.

We’ve had massive capital flight because the Government didn’t tear down the wire fence walls soon enough and has mismanaged the central city rebuild.

This Government has no interest in pro-actively building affordable homes in the central city on the scale necessary to help stimulate growth and urban renewal.

I walk the central city most days. This week, while walking to a meeting, I took three photos that summarise the state of the central city. In the space of five hundred metres along Colombo Street to Worcester Street we have:

vast empty space and buildings still be demolished 3 1/2 years after the first earthquake (in this photo the old City Council office on Tuam Street);

the remains of a demolished building next to Cashel Street – including stagnant water, road cones, broken plastic chair and other rubbish; and

a stunning example of street art on Worcester Street on the building next to what was my workplace from 2006 to 2008.

Destruction, desolation, demolition. And beauty hinting at a better future to come.

A few weeks back I reported on the flooding in Flockton. It is the area that has had the most media (thanks to the passionate advocacy of Jo Byrne), but it is not the only area seriously impacted by flooding in Christchurch.

In the weekend David Cunliffe outlined Labour’s Christchurch flooding proposal in an open letter to the Prime Minister. This letter was informed by the local Labour MPs and candidates and what we are seeing and hearing on the ground.

There were two key parts to the letter.

First, the importance of politicians and agencies working together. Flood affected people are absolutely fed up with fighting between the Council, Government and others and want people to work together on solutions.

The most important factor is the wellbeing of residents. We can do more to support them. We simply must act now and act together.

I believe all political parties should work in partnership with local authorities to offer immediate and enduring solutions and give confidence and certainty to the residents so that they can plan their lives and their futures. We recognise that those whose lives are in disarray need progress and certainty as soon as possible, while fair solutions that ensure beyond the next few months are also needed.

Second, specific suggestions that Labour wants the Government to consider as part of any response to Christchurch flooding.

Gerry Brownlee was dismissive of our response (he was also dismissive on Radio Live of the Council’s Flooding Taskforce Report), but it is important that Labour continues to advocate this approach.

On Monday 12 May an Extraordinary Christchurch City Council meeting was held, where members of the Mayoral Taskforce on Flooding presented a report outlining short-term flood mitigation options for the prioritised flood-prone areas.

It is an excellent report and consistent with the approach Labour outlined. Council staff worked incredibly hard to prepare it. But it is just the start – not the end. And the Government will need to come to the table and outline their contribution to resolving these issues.

]]>https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/05/14/labours-christchurch-flooding-proposal/feed/4Labour’s first 100 days vital for kick-starting the Canterbury recoveryhttps://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/05/07/labours-first-100-days-vital-for-kick-starting-the-canterbury-recovery/
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/05/07/labours-first-100-days-vital-for-kick-starting-the-canterbury-recovery/#commentsTue, 06 May 2014 18:38:45 +0000http://thedailyblog.co.nz/?p=46046

The wheels have fallen off the Canterbury recovery.

Housing, the central city and EQC in particular have been abysmal failures.

There is a cacophony of voices speaking out against the National Government’s slow and mismanaged recovery. The blueprint is in tatters, the cost share agreement is looking increasingly wobbly, the central city is bleak, insurance is an ongoing saga, many in the community are at breaking point, and the Government is only tinkering around the edges of the housing crisis.

The earthquakes may have created the challenge, but the National Government has failed to step up to the challenge.

The Labour-led Government’s first 100 days in office must kick-start the Canterbury recovery and focus on building a faster and fairer recovery. We must give people hope that a better future is possible.

The top priorities must be solving the housing crisis, building a trusting partnership with the Christchurch City Council to move the central city Blueprint forward with buy-in from the community, and sorting out the ECQ and insurance mess.

Kiwibuild must be kicked off in the first 100 days. Canterbury will be a priority for Kiwibuild with 10,000 affordable homes built in Canterbury over the next four years. Plus, we need to urgently address social and emergency housing for earthquake and flood affected residents. Labour’s apprenticeship policy (turning the dole into apprenticeships) must also be fast-tracked to ensure we have the skilled people necessary for the rebuild and to give young people a future.

A number of these new homes must be built in the central city. Anchor projects alone will not revive the central city – the focus must be on building affordable homes and encouraging more people to live in the central city (the topic of a public meeting I ran with Phil Twyford a few weeks back). We need integrated planning to build communities – affordable housing, mixed use, planning for schools, early childhood centres, community gardens, affordable and efficient transport, etc.

The new Labour-led Government must immediately build a trusting relationship with the local Councils and re-orientate the recovery as a partnership. The central city Blueprint, anchor projects, and cost-share agreement need to be looked at with fresh eyes and an enduring consensus developed so that things can move forward with urgency. The rebuild should not be a battle between the Councils and the Government.

And legislation should be passed in the first 100 days to set up KiwiAssure, deal with insurance companies and set up a high-level inquiry into ECQ and insurance.

Labour will be announcing specific policy in these areas (and more) over the coming months.

Never has an election (and the first 100 days of a new Government) been more important for the future of a city and its people than 20th September 2014.

Last week the Flockton Basin flooded again – the second time in six weeks. And not just roads and land, but homes and garages. Some people have been flooded multiple times since the earthquakes. One couple, after the March flood forced them out of their home, had stored their belongings in their garage. They were about to get a container to store their belongings, which are now all destroyed.

On Thursday I helped several older and vulnerable residents, like Julie above, in the Flockton Basin area with their sandbags. But sandbags are an inadequate response for those facing repeated flooding until the Council’s two year area-wide solution kicks in.

Those I spoke with the day after the flooding had a sleepless night watching the water levels rise.

Anxiety levels go up every time it rains.

Last week I spoke with one Flockton Basin resident who lost her business in the February earthquake and has had her home flooded multiple times. She is currently not living in her house because it is wet and mouldy. The flood water contains sewage and everything it touches requires disinfecting. The Council recently sent her a letter informing her of a property valuation increase which has meant a hefty rate increase. Yet she doesn’t believe she could sell her house if she tried.

Some residents have had their insurance excess increase to $5000-$10,000.

This area has a history of flooding, but engineering solutions (the Dudley diversion/pumpstation) in the 1980s reduced much of the flood risk. The earthquakes reversed those gains – the land in this area dropped by 20cm-60cm – making it more susceptible to flooding.

The Council has developed two options for consultation for the Flockton Basin.

Option one costs $50 million and involves widening and deepening Dudley Creek and bridge replacements and upgrades.

Option two costs $53 million and involves a new pump station and bypass, plus some widening and deepening of Dudley creek and some bridge replacement.

Both options will involve Council purchasing people’s property; possibly compulsory acquiring it under the Public Works Act. The Council hopes to fast-track the option they choose and have the works complete in two years from then. That could be 2 ½ years from now.

An area-wide solution makes sense and the new Council has been pro-active in getting things moving and consulting the community.

But for some residents who face more flooding (possibly many times), particularly those who have already had water breach their floor levels and flood their homes, that will be 2 ½ years too long.

The housing crisis is effecting everyone in Christchurch but some are more vulnerable than others.

Recently I attended a workshop on emergency youth housing hosted by the 298 Youth Health Centre, who I worked for from 2001-2003.

Over fifty people from various social agencies attended. We heard what they are doing and what the options are. These agencies are working incredibly hard, trying to triage the most desperate, and in some cases asking churches for money to help young people find shelter.

But the options are limited. There is no housing for many, a severe shortage of affordable housing and an acute shortage of emergency accommodation.

One participant claimed that in Christchurch there are more housing options for animals than people.

Youth who have no home that day are being referred to backpacker accommodation or holiday parks. Sometimes churches give short term financial assistance for specific cases. But there are also long waiting lists for many of these emergency housing options.

People who have come down from the North Island and elsewhere for the rebuild looking for work and to better their lives cannot find accommodation and are ending up living in cars, on couches or living rough.

The workshop was told of at least one young person resorting to prostitution for her and her partner to be able to afford to live.

Because of the high demand for rentals landlords can be choosy. That means that if you are young, or brown, or tattooed, or on a benefit, or have a bad credit rating, you are more likely to not be chosen. One participant said “our clients are not ‘attractive clients’ – landlords want middle income tenants”.

The City Mission reported receiving at least two to three phone calls a day from people desperate for shelter. They are still finding many living in tents, garages, cars and caravans. People in desperate circumstances.

The City Mission said that normally they would be dealing with the very marginalised – extreme poverty, mental health issues, and drug and alcohol addiction. But now they are dealing with the working poor and low-middle income people. People who are being forced to pay exorbitant rents or who are paying mortgages on red zoned homes they can’t live in. People who have led an independent life are now queuing up for food parcels at the Mission.

Each morning people start queuing up at 8am for food parcels. And at 9am when they start handing them out, the 30 per day they give out go quickly, with many others missing out. The Mission say they could give out hundreds if they had the resources.

People are renting caravans with only the very basics for $300 a week.

298 Youth Health reported that some are living in abandoned houses but they discourage this because these have also become havens for drug dealing.

Participants asked for an online database that can be easily accessed so that social agencies can see what emergency beds are available when.

But as another workshop participant said – that would be useful but doesn’t solve the underlying problem; there are no houses or beds for people to go to.

It’s a disgrace.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs list food, water, clothing, shelter, sleep as the most important for human survival – needs that should be met first. This government is failing its most basic of duties.

In August 2011 I wrote that our city must seize the change to change and create a better city. As Rebecca Solnit would say, a paradise built in hell. I wrote:

We will fail future generations if we do not grasp the post-earthquake opportunity to build the best small city in the world and address the social and economic failures that existed before September 4, 2010.

The challenge before our political leaders at local and central government level isn’t enviable.

They must engage the community from the bottom up and reconcile the competing interests, ideas, values and visions into a consensus to take us forward.

To date that consensus has not emerged. The National Government has failed to take the population with it. Its Central City Blueprint superseded the Council’s own plan, rejecting the peoples’ vision that emerged from “Share an Idea”.

Two recent articles reinforce the importance for us to grasp this opportunity to create a better city. Both relate to designing cities for people with high quality public spaces that prioritise walking and cycling. Ironically, the kind of city that 100,000+ people asked for in the Council led “Share an Idea” consultation.

If one was to judge by sheer wealth, the last half-century should have been an ecstatically happy time for people in the US and other rich nations such as Canada, Japan and Great Britain. And yet the boom decades of the late 20th century were not accompanied by a boom in wellbeing. The British got richer by more than 40% between 1993 and 2012, but the rate of psychiatric disorders and neuroses grew.

The second article was about how the Mayor of Paris campaigned to shift Paris from a car dominated city into one that focussed on improving public spaces.

The terms of political debate permanently shifted during the administration of outgoing Mayor Bertrand Delanoë, and a remarkable consensus has emerged over environmental concerns. When Delanoë took office 13 years ago, he vowed that automobile interests would no longer dominate the city and he would focus on improving public spaces. And he made good on his promise.

Paris is now a radically different place. Less than half of Parisian households own a car and those who do use them far less than the inhabitants of other cities. People have become attached to the quality of life that urban spaces designed as places, and not as conduits for traffic, allow. To be perceived as intending to take that away would be electoral folly for an aspiring Mayor.

Ongoing debate about the kind of city and future we want is important. Democracy is not a one-off consultation or vote, but an ongoing engagement with people about the kind of things people want to do, what people are willing to pay to do, the kind of city people want to live in and the future they imagine for themselves and their children.

There was recently a public outcry when the Council announced it would delay cycle-lanes by three years. The outcry was intensified by the tragic death of Sharla Haerewa, a young woman with a promising future who was hit by a truck while cycling to work at Christchurch hospital.

But there is also deep unease that some of our leaders simply want to re-create the city we had before the earthquakes and not grasp the opportunity to be a better than we were.

I concluded my article by saying:

There is already a strong political faultline emerging between those who want to quickly restore our city and duplicate what we already had and those who want to build a different and, arguably, better city.

If we simply recreate what we had we will have failed to grasp the opportunity to be a beacon of hope for what New Zealand could be. To build an environmentally sustainable city that eliminates poverty and reduces inequality, the drivers of so much of our social and economic harm.

]]>https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/04/08/christchurch-must-grasp-chance-to-create-a-better-city/feed/8The Christchurch Housing Crisishttps://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/04/02/the-christchurch-housing-crisis/
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/04/02/the-christchurch-housing-crisis/#commentsTue, 01 Apr 2014 19:25:36 +0000http://thedailyblog.co.nz/?p=44402
In late February Gerry Brownlee said on CTV show Lynched that there is no housing crisis. He went on to define a crisis as “something that requires urgent attention”. So does that mean that Gerry Brownlee believes housing in Christchurch does not require urgent attention?

That explains a lot.

It aligns with his comment last year that the rental crisis was “best left to the market”.

People are facing their fourth winter since the earthquakes, many in cold, damp, flooded, broken homes.

The number of homeless (by the official government definition) is over 5000. Some, including children, are still sleeping in cars, tents, garages, caravans and on other people’s couches.

We have a significant lack of supply which is contributing to massive rent increases (31% in 3 years). And rents are expected to continue to rise.

22% of households in rental accommodation spend 40% or more of their income on rent. The cost of housing is pushing families into poverty, with budgets stretched to breaking point. For too many, after paying the rent there isn’t enough to pay the bills or afford adequate food. Older people aren’t turning on heating because they can’t afford it.

The lack of supply has also led to an increase in house prices, pricing many people out of the Kiwi dream of owning their own homes. National has announced plans to build 275, $500,000 “affordable” homes. Two problems with that: 1) the Government is thinking too small scale and tinkering, and 2) Christchurch is a city where 50% of peoeple have an income below $29,000 per year – $500,000 is not an affordable home for most people.

Home ownership in Christchurch has dropped to 64.8%. We know that home ownership (or long-term security of tenure) has a major impact on educational and health outcomes for children—which is why it used to be government policy to encourage home ownership.

The standard of housing in Christchurch is dropping with many taking their insurance pay-outs and then selling broken homes “as is, where is”. Investors are then buying them and putting people into these broken homes without doing earthquake repairs. And overcharging tenants for the privilege.

Three and a half years after the quake, too many still have unresolved EQC and insurance issues.

Many Housing NZ and Council housing units are yet to have their earthquake repairs – hundreds sit empty.

And we lack builders and tradespeople to build the houses necessary to increase supply. We need 5000 apprentices/trade trained people now – just to stand still.

Add to that the increased cost of power. It is a recipe for an increase in poor health.

The CDHB is very concerned about the long-term health implications of the housing crisis and have advised the Government to improve housing quality and facilitate the provision of affordable housing.

We must build more affordable homes. Labour’s KiwiBuild policy will ensure 10,000 warm dry affordable homes are built in Canterbury over the next four years. That will include housing in the central city: we must get people living in the central city if we’re to get its heart beating again.

We must ensure homes are warm and dry. Labour has announced a Healthy Homes Guarantee – a minimum standard required to rent out a house including adequate insulation and heating.

We must ensure we train people who can then rebuild our city. Labour will turn the dole into apprenticeships to speed up the number of people trained in trades. It will also give our young people who are not in employment or training hope for a better future and prevent the need to import larger numbers of overseas labour – which will put even more pressure on housing.

And there is more policy to come.

All people should have access to adequate, safe, secure, sustainable and affordable housing. No one should be prevented from establishing a decent home because of low income.

Housing will be a dominant issue in the 2014 election for Christchurch. Labour has solutions to the crisis. The National Government is doing the bare minimum because it doesn’t believe there is a crisis, doesn’t believe it requires urgent attention, and believes the market will sort it out. They’re wrong.

“Even in developed countries, disasters have a knack of finding the poor and vulnerable.” Charles W. Gould

We should all be outraged about stories like Alf’s in the Christchurch Press yesterday.

92 year old Alf Johnson is still waiting on his insurance claim. He was told to pack his bags and be ready to leave his home around Christmas. Christmas came and went and Alf remains in his broken home.

As a nation, we can’t just sit back and let this happen. It’s been three and a half years. Alf deserves better than this.

It’s just one more example of how leaders and decision-makers have ignored the lessons and evidence of natural disasters from around the world.

On 10 May 2011 the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor, Sir Peter Gluckman, wrote a briefing paper for the Government. The paper presented evidence from other disasters around the world. Post-earthquake other international visitors spoke in Christchurch about lessons from disasters and research papers (including from the Canterbury District Health Board) were shared publicly.

The evidence told us the following:

Community networks and institutions, such as schools are known to buffer the effects of stress and help children return to some sense of normality.

Yet we have had school closures in our poorest communities. The Government used the earthquake as an excuse for school closures and charter school experiments. And at the worst possible time.

It is important to attend to the basic needs of the population first, because the stresses associated with housing and restoring patterns of life can have as much impact on psychological wellbeing as the disaster itself. Sir Gluckman said, “A delayed response to provision of key needs …might create heightened anger…” and Gould, “The recovery of housing is essential to a community’s recovery”.

Yet commercial centres and anchor projects were prioritised over people’s homes. People have been caught up in endless delay by EQC and insurance companies. People have been forced to take EQC and their insurance companies to court. Families have been or are still living in garages, tents, cars and on other peoples’ couches. There is a significant lack of supply, particularly for affordable housing. Market forces can’t and won’t fix it.

Recovery is not neutral. A disaster may widen the gap between the rich and the poor. “Even in developed countries, disasters have a knack of finding the poor and vulnerable.” Charles W. Gould

Yet many of our vulnerable have been let down by the Government – 92 year old Alf and 85 year old Dot, who I mentioned last week. Social agencies report that older people are feeling alone and anxious. We know of many calls to St John about self-harm or suicide and over 60,000 Cantabrians taking anti-depressants.

It is vital that agencies pay attention to issues of pre-existing inequalities. Sir Gluckman said in his report, “Women (especially mothers of young children), children, and people with a prior history of mental illness or poor social adjustment appear to be more vulnerable than other groups”.

Yet 1 in 5 young people (15-19) are unemployed and 1 in 4 children living below the poverty line. The evidence also told us that rebuilding could offer opportunities to create a more equitable community – if carefully planned. However, when solutions were proposed to rebuild Christchurch, inequality was not something deemed worthy of repair. Post-earthquake calls by organisations like the Christchurch Methodist Mission for Council and Government to consider the needs of everyone in the rebuild and create a “Poverty Reduction Plan” fell on deaf ears.

Natural disasters are disempowering events. The need to regain some sense of control over one’s life is central to the recovery process. Sir Gluckman said, “It is important for the affected population to co-ordinate and co-lead the response effort. If the population do not sense this is happening, then the phase may well be longer and the symptoms of anger and frustration more intense.”

Yet CERA’s power, control and dominance are growing rather than diminishing. We still have an un-elected Regional Council (ECan) four years after elected councillors were sacked by the Government in March 2010. The Council-led “Share an Idea” report was shelved by the Government in favour of anchor projects. Many people feel disempowered. Anger and resentment is growing. The City Council offers a glimmer of hope and is working to re-establish itself and reclaim some of its powers seized by CERA.

We need leaders and decision-makers who pay attention to the lessons that have been learned from other natural disasters around the world and the advice of the Prime Minister’s Chief Scientist Sir Peter Gluckman. That includes caring about human rights and basic dignity for Alf and Dot and others like them.

“On behalf of the Government, let me be clear that no one will be left to walk this journey alone. New Zealand will walk this journey with you. We will be there every step of the way. Christchurch; this is not your test, this is New Zealand’s test. I promise we will meet this test.”

That is the promise John Key made to the people of Christchurch 23 February 2011 – the day after the February earthquake.

But from Cashmere to Bexley, Sumner to St Albans, Lyttelton to Mairehau – the National government has left many people to walk alone – to fight EQC and insurance companies alone every step of the way.

Three years on from the earthquakes many people can’t move on with their lives because of EQC and insurance delays and multiple and contradictory assessments.

Labour has been working to bring to light cases such as that of 85-year-old Dot Boyd, who had been waiting three years for repairs on her Aranui Home. Because of the attention surrounding her case, a solution has been found for Dot—but EQC has now confirmed there are at least 85 elderly people considered to be “vulnerable” suffering the same plight.

And we have just found out that while the vulnerable are still waiting for answers after more than 3 ½ years, there is a VIP list of high profile journalists, television personalities, and sports stars. As Clayton Cosgrove has said, “every person affected by the earthquakes should be treated as a VIP and priority status should be given to the most vulnerable, like 85-year-old Dot Boyd”.

Of major concern is those who are, or should be, on the vulnerable list and the fact that they are still waiting after all this time and quite possibly in substandard housing. By the time of the election these people will have been through their fourth winter in these conditions. That is completely unacceptable.

Even those quake/insurance victims who have their own difficulties have told me they would support the most vulnerable, like Dot, having their issues given priority.

Now, while areas like the Flockton Basin flood again (the seventh time since the quakes for many), the government has left residents there, too, to walk or wade alone.

Engineers identified that the earthquakes have caused the streams to narrow and silt up, and widespread land settlement (land has dropped 0.2-0.6 metres) that has made flood vulnerable areas more at risk. This is not a new development, either – geotechnical reports had acknowledged this after the September 2010 earthquakes.

Yet last week, National claimed to be unsure whether the earthquakes worsened the flooding risk.

I moved to Christchurch in 2000 to attend Canterbury University where I received a BA (Hons) in English and Political Science.

I’ve spent several years working on the front line of addictions, health and social services – as a youthworker at the 198 Youth Health Centre and for the past 5 1/2 years as National Manager of Public Health at the Problem Gambling Foundation. That work has involved working with people facing tough times and real human struggles and helping to change their lives while also working to create stronger communities through better public policy.

Many people in Christchurch are struggling. With incomes that are too low, and housing and power prices that are too high. Too many homes are cold, and damp and too many people have unresolved EQC and insurance issues. Too many children are growing up in poverty while the gap between the rich and everyone else gets wider. The Government has been too quick to close schools and tear down heritage buildings, and too slow getting things moving in the central city.

I grew up in Invercargill, where most my family still live. As a family we had little money, but my parents worked hard to give my brother, sisters and me opportunities. My upbringing taught me to fight alongside Davids as they take on Goliaths.

I was part of the group that opposed the Christchurch Council decision to increase rents on Council Housing tenants by 24%. We took the Council to Court and won. I’ve fought alongside Phillipstown School in their fight against the Government’s decision to close the school, including a successful High Court case against the Ministry of Education. I’ve been part of the Christchurch Living Wage steering group, the campaign to save Te Whare Roimata, to save Centennial Pool, and to save heritage buildings.